Electronics Based on Organic Materials
One of our main research areas is to develop printable electronic devices and circuits, based on organic (yes, plastics!) materials.
We are used to polymers, i.e., plastics, being somehow the opposite of metals. They are electrical insulators, they do not conduct electricity. Electrical wires are coated with polymers to protect them as well as us! Yet, A. J. Heeger, A. G. MacDiarmid and H. Shirakawa discovered in 1977 that some plastics, after certain treatments, could be conductors. In fact, some organic materials have a higher conductivity than many metals. The discovery was so important, they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000.
Why is this so important? Looking around, we have plastics used everywhere in our daily life, as insulators, etc, because of their very low cost and excellent mechanical flexibility. Now, imagining they can be made into conductors as well as semiconductors, one may immediately envisage how profoundly the world would change with plastics, again!
In the 1967 film, “The Graduate,” it was said: “The future is plastics.” From many points of view, this prediction is quite true. Plastics will bring a revolution, for the 2nd time in the history. Market for organic electronics is currently $70 Million per year, expected to grow to about $5 Billion by 2010 and $30 Billion by 2015.
Our research is mainly focused on electronic devices based on semiconducting polymers (the electronic side rather than the chemistry). We have developed and patented novel planar nanodevices, including diodes and transistors, which are simpler, potentially much cheaper and faster than previous organic electronics devices. These advantages arise from the simplicity of the single layer, planar structures, which differentiate them from conventional semiconductor devices which are multilayer, vertical structures. There are a number of potential applications ranging from printed Radio Frequency Identification Tags (RFID) to drivers for rollable computer displays, and intelligent disposable sensors.
Our research in the field of printed electronics has led to a spin-out company in June 2006. The Nano ePrint Ltd has since developed fast.